CTS A | Week 1 What is critical thinking
Critical thinking is the ability to carefully analyze, evaluate, and reflect on information, ideas, and processes before making decisions. It allows me to question why certain choices are effective, how different approaches influence outcomes, and whether the information I rely on is trustworthy. Critical thinking helps me move beyond immediate solutions to consider deeper meaning, connections, and implications. It also encourages me to explore multiple perspectives, anticipate challenges, and refine my approach based on evidence and observation. By practicing critical thinking, I can develop more thoughtful, purposeful, and impactful work while approaching problems with clarity, adaptability, and confidence.
“Critical thinking requires us to use our imagination, seeing things from perspectives other than our own and envisioning the likely consequences of our position” by Bell Hooks. I believe it is true because critical thinking is not just about analyzing information, its also involves empathy, imagination, and understanding the potential impact of our decisions. In my own learning and creative journey, stepping outside my own perspective helps me approach problems more thoughtfully and develop work that resonates with others. It reminds me to consider not only my own ideas but also how they affect others and the world around me. By envisioning consequences and exploring multiple viewpoints, I am able to create more meaningful, purposeful, and responsible outcomes.
In daily life, I used to struggle to keep up with assignments because of poor time management. By thinking critically, I learned to analyze how I approach my work, prioritize tasks, and consider the consequences of leaving things until the last minute. This reflection allowed me to create a schedule, allocate time effectively, and anticipate potential challenges. As a result, I not only meet deadlines more consistently but also produce higher-quality work, showing how critical thinking can transform both efficiency and productivity.
-Bell Hooks, September 2009, scribd.com
CTS A | Week 2 Collaborative Skills
Using collaborative skills in creative projects means building up ideas as a team.One person’s concept inspires another, and the whole project becomes stronger because everyone adds their creative voice. By showing how they progress visually so others can give feedback or continue the idea or suggest improvements.
Without collaboration, the work only reflects one person’s view, leading to fewer ideas, less innovation, and a weaker final concept as group projects depend on diverse perspectives.
For example, Behind the Scenes at Studio Ghibli. EVERY SINGLE FRAME is hand-drawn by animators, before being put together to give the illusion of movement and create the film. As each hand-drawn making it into a feature film will need to make lots of frames which one person will take years to finish. With group collaboration, staff members are expected to accelerate their workflow “Often new employees need to be hired towards the end of production to ensure that the film is completed on time.”
In class, I practiced collaborative skills through our group activity, creating what we were actually growing up with. We had to combine our ideas and work as a team to finish the activity. We discussed different approaches, listened to one another’s perspectives, and giving ideas. This experience taught me how teamwork helps strengthen ideas, improves workflow, and creates a better final outcome than working alone. I also learned about what other people perspective towards this generations. Most of us have the caught up the generations of memes and also what they do with their friends. Some may find memes as dark humor while some doesn't. Having this activity helps me viewed about different perspectives of things around us.
Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli (18 April 2013) ghibligabble.blogspot.com
CTS A | Week 3 Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, understand, and manage one's own emotions, as well as recognize and influence the emotions of others. It involves a range of skills including self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, and social skills, which can be learned and improved throughout life. Emotions are intertwined with our everyday experiences, affecting how we perceive the world, interact with people, and make decisions. Its easily changed as its dynamic influenced by internal thoughts, external events, and interactions with others. A person may feel happy one moment and frustrated the next, depending on circumstances or new information.
An example, while scrolling tiktok I scroll through a video about woman rights. Man would be commenting about them not being involved and seen enough to be having their own rights. Where some thinks its should be equal where talking about women and men rights. Those lacking emotional intelligence may misinterpret statements, assume negative intentions, or respond defensively, reinforcing stereotypes and mistrust.
In our class activity groups, we were given a topic to act out a scenario where my group have to act about a classmate having no participation giving no suggestions in group projects. This is a great understanding about emotional intelligence letting us understand that one person might not have self-awareness might change the group atmosphere. But given as group with classmates that are not participating much brings difficulty to our works, creating extra workload and can slow down progress. However it link back to my own topic which brings real life experience to solve which is a relieve. Hoping this brings our group knowing their own responsibility brings them to help the group move forward. This understanding reinforces the importance of emotional intelligence in fostering cooperation and maintaining a positive, productive group environment.
CTS A | Compulsory Questions 1:
Critical thinking is the ability to look at information with an open but questioning mind. Instead of believing something immediately, you pause, analyze the details, and consider whether the information makes sense.
It can be involve in daily meals like hawker food prices in Singapore. Used to be affordable, accessible, and culturally significant but now 6.1% for some cooked hawker food, per government statistics. Now, Mcdonald's is cheaper than that, remembering hawker centre used to be cheap back in the days where I can save money. Local will be complaining about the sudden high rise of prices. "Why are prices rising? Are the increases justified by higher ingredient costs or rent? "
One of our group activities was to create a mind map with visual metaphor, helping us turn complex ideas into concrete images and see the relationships between concepts clearly. We tried observing what engine are there in a spaceship as our visual metaphor which link to what we learned so we create it as a mind map. With the help of my group mates collaborating together and analyzing all our ideas we managed to complete everything.
-Deborah Lau, "The Big Read: Singaporeans want cheap and good hawker food. Hawkers need to make money. How do we square the circle?", 22 Jul 2024, CNA
CTS | A Compulsory Question 2:
In creative and technical learning, developing skills is just as important as mastering techniques or software. These skills help us not only generate ideas but also evaluate them, work effectively with others, and adapt to challenges. Across all the module we have to learn, we are encouraged to think deeply, communicate clearly, and reflect on our processes.
I believe every module have personally helped me with having more creative mind like Studio Research framework. We have to draw out mind maps to brainstorm out ideas with only library books which is difficult for our generations now with the help of internets. Discovering unexpected connections, visual references, and design ideas we wouldn’t normally find through a simple Google search. I have a problem which its too relying on internet to find any source of information to answers which overall usage, it weaken in my learning because information online is often fast.
Being able to explore and learn something gaining both technical skills and a deeper understanding of how images communicate. I used to be an introverted person who likes to stay in but having project in photography allows me to explore the outside world able to capture a lot of beautiful details. I am able to change my mindset to step out of my comfort zone and push myself through trying new things.
Same as Jason Teale that have able to put "fixed mindset" and "growth mindset" into his artwork. "When I looked at these two mindsets while focussing on photography, it gave me some useful insight into what may be a sticking point for some people." Able to tell how much he learned with skills develop through practice, experimentation, and learning from mistakes. Helping me recognize that progress in comes from being open, patient, and willing to keep learning rather than relying on natural ability.
-Jason Teale, "Photography and the Growth Mindset", The Sajin, 9 June 2015, jasonteale.com
CTS A | Compulsory Question 3:
In my journey in Lasalle, I realized that learning is not just about mastering tools or techniques it’s about navigating complexity, understanding people, and adapting to challenges. Working on group projects and creative assignments has shown me how ideas evolve when different perspectives come together, and how tension or disagreements can spark innovative solutions.
Developing emotional awareness helps me read situations and respond constructively, while a growth mindset encourages me to embrace mistakes as part of the creative process. Able to approach problems, generate ideas, and create meaningful designs that communicate clearly and authentically. Being able to do that also needs fulfill client's needs.
Wanting to have a professional journey about making short animation films spreading awareness. I used to watched films in Youtube where one film that everyone can relate is an animated short film “Overcomer” by Hannah Grace. Grace tackles her own anxiety and depression, yet the message is broad enough to resonate with many. She hopes everyone be able to find peace in their own life even though she have been suffering herself bringing empathy to else. Analyze "Overcome" uses visual metaphor, emotional narrative, and simplicity to deliver a strong message.
I plan to become a freelance graphic designer and short animator, creating work that can be seen and spreading awareness to the world. In our group activity, we were asked to reflect deeply on our choices and envision a clear path for our professional journey. Before this exercise, I had never considered the details of my final-year project or what I truly wanted to achieve. Being able to express my goals and articulate what I want to learn made me feel visible and more certain about my aspirations. It helped me understand not only the type of projects I want to pursue but also the impact I hope to make through my creative work.
-Hannah Grace, "Overcome", April 26, 2016, Youtube
